JEDDAH, 31 May — It has been four long, and at times, agonizing years since I last bared my soul in a letter to your Editor entitled “The Heart Rules”. The occasion was the lead-up to the 1998 World Cup held in France. The subject was the reasoning, if one can call it that, which drives a rabid football fan to support one team over another.
At the time, I wrote: “In normal times, our lives are caught up in the multiple webs of family obligations, peer pressure, social etiquette, political correctness etc. The wise need tread carefully! Not so during the World Cup, a nicer term for legal war, for it offers total freedom of choice. Were it possible to watch all games from a purist point of view, most would agree that there are too many teams and too many games. However, what makes the Mondial special is the seeding and subsequent draw which can result in some tantalizing match-ups between sworn enemies, colonizers, colonized, imperialists, international pariahs, unfair trading partners and their ilk”.
For sure, it is a different world today. We now live in the wake of 9/11. With the signing in Moscow a few days ago of the nuclear missile reduction treaty, the final nail was driven into the coffin of the late counterbalancing superpower.
Oslo is also dead and war-mongering Sharon, emboldened by an emasculated Congress’ eagerness to do his bidding, keeps raising the ante.
The ice cap is melting and the average American has never heard of Kyoto. We will soon have so many refugees on the move around the globe that they will be declared a nation and have representatives at the U.N. and world capitals.
All the above notwithstanding, some things never change, and these help us to cope in these trying times. The Armenians are still smarting at having been upstaged by a holocaust later than their own, India and Pakistan are on the verge of war, drug-ridden Columbia is on the brink of total anarchy, ferries in Bangladesh still cannot stay afloat and the World Cup is once again upon us!
“Choosing favorites with little regard to the on-field talent and skills will not normally result in a good winning percentage. It also hardly matters that the supremely skilled could be pitted against an underdog with no bark. What is important is the chance provided to thoroughly vent four long years of frustration, seek redress if not revenge, embarrass a person (or country/ continent/ hemisphere) while also hopefully inflicting some pain to someone’s national pride along the way.
Of the twenty matches called in 1998, my heart achieved a dismal 20% success rating, with four wins, eight losses and eight ties. Contrary to what one might believe, the less than scintillating performance hardly put a dent in the ego, as the group of 16, the quarters and the medal rounds beyond continued to deliver surprise confrontations to fire the emotions.
In this year’s lineup, I am somewhat disappointed by the absence of a few teams. Some from the “Axis of Evil” would surely have spiced up the tournament. Alas, a tantalizing rematch of Satan vs. Evil was not to be. Also, ever since their leanings towards Israel brought upon them the wrath of the 1973 oil embargo, Holland has long been a team whose defeat I relish. This, in spite of the undisputed brilliance of Cruyff, Van Basten and Gullit. Lastly, Austria’s shameful collusion with Germany in keeping Algeria out of the second round of an earlier World Cup is worthy of eternal honors on my black list!! Their prior elimination is not as satisfying as three first round routs and an ignominious exit on the world stage would have been.
“One wouldn’t normally admit to such base emotions but during the WC (no pun intended), they are legal tender. One is bound only by what one feels inside. Nothing makes sense yet it all makes sense... the heart rules”.
• Senegal-France: Rule no. 1, never root for the colonizer.
• Cameroon - Ireland: Lions should enjoy chasing the leprechauns up the stands.
• Uruguay-Denmark: Rule no. 2, South over North.
• Saudi Arabia-Germany: Hit and run Camel Corps might yet surprise cumbersome Panzer Division.
• Sweden-England: Rule no. 3, never root for England.
• South Africa-Paraguay: Robbin Island inmates over ex-Generals turned footballers.
• Argentina - Nigeria: Fraudsters can pilfer nothing from the financially bankrupt.
• Mexico-Croatia: Hot salsa should cleanse the ethnic cleansers.
• Brazil-Turkey: Kebab butchers don’t know how to samba.
• Costa Rica-China: Minnows can fly over the peril.
• Portugal-USA: Colonizer rather than latter-day imperialist.
• Ireland-Germany: “Keane” Irish out to prove their luck.
• Paraguay-Spain: See rule no. 1 above.
• Argentina-England: Each out to get the upper “Hand”
• Italy-Croatia: colouriful checkered jersey cannot erase memory of Mostar.
• Brazil-China: Orientation of pitch in Seogwipo not Feng-Shui.
• Costa Rica - Turkey: Banana Republic over Schizophrenic Republic.
• Japan - Russia: Victory is the first step towards the rightful return of the Kuril Islands.
• South Korea-USA: In this war, Mr. President, we are against you.
• Tunisia - Belgium: Africa has not forgotten Patrice Lumumba.
• Senegal - Uruguay: Touareg on camel nobler than gaucho on pony.
• Saudi Arabia-Ireland: The greener of the two shall lose.
• Argentina-Sweden: See rule no. 2 above.
• Nigeria-England: See rules nos. 1,2 and 3 above!
• Paraguay-Slovenia: Watch Oprah rerun instead.
• China-Turkey: Island invasion experience will count for little in Korean Peninsula.
• Poland-USA: Payback for all the Polack jokes.
